FILE - In this Dec. 10, 2010 file photo, a worker tears off the leaves of a Vidalia onion plant before planting its roots into the soil on an onion farm in Lyons, Ga. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

Written by

Duane Maatz
For Gannett Central Wisconsin Media

Wisconsin's 76,800 farms are a key economic driver for our state, responsible for an estimated $59.16 billion annually. The University of Wisconsin-Extension and the University of Wisconsin-Madison have found our vegetable production and processing account for 35,000 jobs and over $6.4 billion in economic activity. And last year our farmers and processors exported $3.2 billion worth of agricultural products.

We are the top producers in the country for cheese, green beans, carrots, red beets and lima beans and we are third in the country in potatoes. We are already known as America's ...